Pheaktra urged all radio broadcasters to avoid fake news and to protect the integrity of the media and information security in order to maintain peace and stability in Cambodia by disseminating quality information by adhering to journalistic ethics and professionalism.
He also encouraged the promotion of the integration of broadcast media with modern media, such as social media, paying particular attention to the transformation to digital technology.
The 13th World Radio Day was held under the theme “A Century of Informing, Entertaining and Educating”.
According to Pheaktra, the theme for World Radio Day reflects the importance of radio, which, for more than a century, has been an important means of broadcasting political, economic, social, cultural, and educational content.
Pheaktra added that “in the process of building peace and democracy in Cambodia, radio played an important role in broadcasting information to promote basic knowledge among the people.”
To this day, radio continues to play an important role in the dissemination of information, information security, and social order in Cambodia by providing factual information to people across the country, especially to villages which encourages participation at the local level and increases people’s trust, Pheaktra added.
Puy Kea, President of the Club of Cambodian Journalists, said that radio still ranks as one of the most common media platforms in the world.
“Radio is still one of the most important mediums in the world, regardless of how popular other media such as Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube are,” said Kea. “It is popular for its ease of access for listeners as they only need a phone or radio. It is, however, more common for the people in rural areas.”
He expressed that World Radio Day is a way to praise and appreciate this older media platform as it is still in use more than a century after its invention.
Radio was first established in 1900, and in 1946, the United Nations (UN) established the UN Radio, which produced daily news in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, and other languages.
Radio, a cost-effective medium of communication, has played a vital role in reaching out to remote communities and vulnerable populations for many years.
To highlight the pivotal role of radio, UNESCO established World Radio Day to be observed on February 13 every year.
World Radio Day was established with the aim of raising public awareness of the importance of radio in daily life and as an opportunity to enhance cooperation and exchange of experiences between operators of radio institutions to develop and modernise radio stations to meet the needs of the public and the development of digital technology.